


To The Graveyard

by mamalovesherbagels



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Attempted Murder, but the description isn't that graphic, happy and hopeful ending tho, i am a whore for angsty apparently
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24310495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamalovesherbagels/pseuds/mamalovesherbagels
Summary: It's not Tara who first figures out who Maddie is, it's Vincent, and he is hellbent on getting revenge. He waits for Maddie outside the call center with a gun with the worst intentions.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	To The Graveyard

So this is how it ends, is her first coherent thought.

Her second is that in the end, even if indirectly, Doug has succeeded in being the death of her.

It might be a different man holding the gun, and a different woman than herself being the one to beg for mercy out loud, but she would’ve never been in this situation if it weren’t for Doug. She wouldn’t have broken Tara’s trust, she wouldn’t have stalked the woman for God’s sake if Doug wasn’t still controlling her from beyond the grave.

Her third and last thought is that maybe this is what’s best if she’s never going to be truly free.

Then, a single gunshot, a scream, and then silence.

.

The silence doesn’t last. Someone is shaking her, and someone is pressing her hands into the gaping wound in the chest.

“She’s not dead, so at least he must have missed her heart,” Josh says breathlessly, “Maddie, can you hear me? Don’t you dare fucking give up on me!”

“...J-Josh?” she wheezes.

“Right here and if you close your eyes I’ll kill you,” he says, tears spilling over from his eyes, “eyes open, Madeline, eyes open. The paramedics are almost here.”  
“You’re going to be fine,” Sue says firmly, almost as if it’s an order, “the dumbass had the bright idea to shoot you in front of a 911 call center, where we all know the aid to give to shooting victims and instant radio access to cops and medics who can talk us through it.”

“My lung,” she gasps, “definitely got my…”

“AWAKE!” Josh screams, not even bothering to keep up the veneer of professionalism when it’s his best friend that he’s trying to keep alive.

“C-can’t,” she whines, eyes closing for a second only to open back up when Josh essentially slaps her cheek.

“Yes, yes you can, I can hear the sirens, Maddie, they’re almost here.”

“I need…” she gasps, “I need you tell Buck that I,” she pauses again to desperately inhale, “I love him, best brother I could’ve… and Howie.. Howie. He was right and I… he’s the best…”

“No, no, no. You’re NOT dying, Maddie,” he growls, “stop telling me things you’re going to get to tell them in person.”

“I never thought I could love again,” she forces out, feeling like she’s fighting against her own tongue as she desperately tries to cling to consciousness until she’s said all she needs to say, “he’s… he needs to have a good life. He and Buck. And you… Sue. Thank you all… love. All love.”

She can’t hear Josh’s blood curdling scream when she closes her eyes, because she’s passed out again.

.

Buck is her emergency contact, but all the calls go to voicemail. The 118 is at the scene of nasty pile up on the freeway. He’s prying a car door open with the jaws of life when he feels a hand gripping at his arm.

“Buck, you get that door open and then you come over here.”

“What, why?”

“Just do it,” Bobby barks, going back to where he had already pulled an equally confused Chimney aside.

“Bobby, what is going--”

“Wait for Buck and I’ll--”

“Maddie,” he says suddenly, putting the association between him and Buck together in an instant, “Maddie, Bobby, what happened to Bobby?”

“Athena called me over radio,” he says slowly, motioning for Buck to move faster on his way toward him.

“Bobby,” Buck pants, catching up, “what the--”

“Your sister. Your sister was shot. She’s still alive but it’s bad.”

“Shot? What are you talking about? Who would…” Buck trails off, refusing to process the reality that Bobby had just laid out for him.

“His name is Vincent, he--”

“Oh my god,” Chimney gasps, falling to his knees, “Vincent, Tara’s husband… he found… oh my god, oh my god. No, no, no. The last thing I said to her was… no, god, no.”

“Chim, I need you to breathe, Athena is coming to take you both to the hospital--”

“Maddie,” he whimpers, staring to sob, “if I had just, I shouldn’t have… Maddie. No. No. I need her. NO!”

“Chim,” Bobby commands, grabbing him by the shoulders, “Chim, she’s alive, she’s in surgery and alive, and we’re not going to count her out yet, okay? The bullet went through her lung and she lost a lot of blood, it’s not good, but you and Buck have both survived worse, so we’re going to have faith that we’re going to get another miracle.”

“Who’s Vincent?” Buck finally asks, in the tiniest, most childlike voice that would remind Maddie of him as a five year old if she were there and not on a table being desperately cut into by hyper focused surgeons.

“An abusive husband,” is all Chimney is able to mumble, falling forward as his vision fades to black.

.

“Chim, hey, honey?” Hen asks quietly, “can you look at me please?”

Buck is shaking, sobbing, almost screaming in his chair in the hospital waiting room as Bobby and Eddie desperately try to comfort him.

Chimney is silent, still, staring off into space with a dead look in his eye.

“Chimney, I need to know you’re not having a mental break,” she says more sternly, “don’t think I won’t get a psych nurse over here if you don’t at least acknowledge my presence.”

More silence.

“Howard Jeffrey Han,” she commands, clapping her hands in front of his face, “if you don’t say something or look at me right now, I’m going to have you forcibly admitted so they can check and make sure you haven’t stroked out on us or are having a nervous breakdown.”

“Leavemealone,” he grumbles, still refusing to look at her.

“No, but thank you for letting me know you’re not having a stroke. What do you need? Can I get you some water, something to drink?”

He does look at her this time, with his face screaming “are you the dumbest person on the planet?”

“I don’t want you to pass out again,” she says patiently, “Maddie has been in surgery for---”

“Six hours, and the longer it goes on the more likely it is that she doesn’t make it,” he spits out, “I know.”

“You don’t know that,” she says pointedly, “and what I was going to say is that I know it’s been a while since you’ve last eaten--”

“I don’t care about me. Not at all right now.”

“I do, Chim, and I can’t imagine--”

“That’s right, you can’t, so please just leave me the hell alone.”

“I’ll be quiet,” she says after a long, thoughtful pause, “but I’m not leaving your side.”

He doesn’t say anything, which she takes as an acceptance.

.

Alive. Expected to recover. Both phrases used by the doctor describing Maddie’s condition and yet he still feels like he can’t breathe.

“She’s okay, Chim, didn’t you hear? She’s going to be okay.”

“Chim?” Bobby tries, patting his back, “Chim, buddy, your girlfriend is going to be fine. We got good news, it’s okay, you can exhale now.”

“Chim, hey,” Buck tries, tears of relief streaming down his cheeks, “Mads is gonna be fine. It’s all gonna be okay.”

“Be okay,” he repeats slowly, and Hen quickly pushes him back down into his chair when she sees that his legs have started to tremble, “s’gonna be okay.”

“Yes, yes,” Hen nods, hand on his neck to feel his pulse, “it’s all going to be okay, you just need to breathe for me, okay? In and out, in and out.”

“In… and out.”

“Someone please go get him something to drink with sugar in it before he ends up needing to be admitted, too.”

.

“You’re alive,” is the first thing that comes tumbling out of his mouth, in a whisper, when she opens her eyes for the first time since surgery.

“Mmm,” she murmurs, drowsy and dazed on painkillers, “alive. Hi.”  
“Hi, Madeline, hi. Thank you for not dying on me.”

“Thought I was dying,” she admits in a whine, “but then I woke up here.”

“And thank God you did,” he says, unable to hold off from bursting into tears any longer, “Maddie, I don’t… what I said to you before… I’m so sorry. You were just trying to help her--”

“Shouldn’t have done it like that. S’fine. Don’t apologize,” she drawls, waving her hand in an exaggerated motion.

“But I am sorry. My last words to you would’ve been…”

“I’m aliiiiiiiiive, Howie. Don’t cry. S’okay. I’m alive. All the time in the world to make up.”

“Maddie, I swear I-I, I could never go without you. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. So please, please don’t ever scare me like that again. I really, really thought that surgeon was going to come out and tell us that you were gone.”

“I’m alive,” she repeats matter of factly, “I’m alive so stop being saaaaaaad. Smile. You have such a pretty smile.”

“Do I?” he asks, trying to conjure up the tiniest, most amused smile he can muster for her given his current state of emotional exhaustion.

“The prettiest. Can’t wait to look at it for the rest of my life.”

“Rest of your life? Are you proposing?” he jokes weakly.

“Mmm no. Not yet.”

“..yet?” he whispers, knowing the sentiment is probably only being spoken by the painkillers, but hoping to whatever power that there is above that there’s at least the smallest bit of sincerity to it yet.

“Not ready to be married again yet. But if I ever do again, I’d like it to be with you,” she murmurs sleepily, closing her eyes.

“You rest,” he instructs, smiling more genuinely this time, “you rest up. I’ll be here when you wake up. And just so you know, I’d really like that, too. Someday. When you’re ready.”

“Gonna sleep now,” she announces, slurring heavily before her breath evens out and he knows she’s asleep.

“Someday,” he repeats to himself, “someday, and I swear, you won’t regret it this time around.”


End file.
